Some of the Chinese-language dailies cover mainly general news, both local and overseas, and others cover solely entertainment, especially television and cinema news and horse racing. The larger papers go to Chinese communities overseas, and somealso have editions printed outside Hong Kong, particualy in Britian and the United States.

Chinese and English papers belong to a Newspaper Society of Hong Kong was formed in 1954, acts in the interest of newspapers, the society of its members. Periodicals represent the other main sector of the press. There are 675 publications of which 378 are Chinese, 156 English, 125 bilingual and 16 in other languages. These magazines cover a wide variety of subjects from public affairs/politics to technical matters and entertainment.

Language
Chinese and English are Hong Kong's two official languages. Cantonese is the most widely spoken dialect, though the use of Mandarin (Putonghua) is growing. English is the language of the business and service industries. Visitors will find most shops and service personnel speak it to some degree. Many residents, of course, can hold their own in one or several of the other Chinese dialects. There is no such thing as spoken "Chinese", only various Chinese dialects. The written language is the same areas, which means if two Chinese cannot speak to each other, they can write each other a note, even though each charater has a different dialectical pronunciation for the same meaning.

For most of the population though, English is at best a few numbers, the obiquitous "hello", "bye-bye" and a few street and places name. Fortunately for visitors, most of the million or so effective English-speakers are concentrated in and around the downtown business and tourist districts. Even fairly far afield shops and restaurant invariably have a resident linguist able enough to get thing done. Often this will be a teenage or younger student, who together with red-badged cops and more fashionable dresser are the most dependable targets for on-the-street que

Religion
Buddhism and Taoism are the main religions in Hong Kong, while Confucianism, a set of moral codes, is widely held. Buddhist and Taoist deities are present in about 600 Chinese temples in Hong Kong. The most popular deities are those associated with the sea and the weather. (Please also refer to Chinese Festivals). Other religions in Hong Kong are Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish faiths. There are many Catholic and Protestant churches and places of worship throughout the territory. The main Islamic mosque is on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui; the Hindu Temple is in Happy Valley; the Sikh Temple is in Wan Chai; and the Ohel Leah Synagogue is on Robinson Road.

Population
There are about 6.5 million people in Hong Kong. About 1.3 million live on Hong Kong Island, around 2 million in mainland Kowloon, and the remainder in the New Territories and Outlying Islands. Almost 96% of the population is ethnic Chinese; the international community includes various nationalities.